>> strong winds from that storm fanned several fires across texas last night, as a major rainmaker moves along the east coast. the white you see in the nation's midsection is what's left of that big blizzard. abc's tahman bradley details its really impressive numbers. >> reporter: a ferocious blizzard buried the texas and oklahoma panhandles under more than a foot of snow. in amarillo, texas, 19 inches of snow fell, blown by gusts of up to 77 miles per hour. >> see what it's like so far. here we go. >> reporter: it's a traffic nightmare on roads and highways. so many drivers were stranded, the national guard had to be called in. in oklahoma, whiteout conditions closed all highways in the panhandle. in albuquerque, new mexico, i-40 was shut down, forcing truck drivers to wait out the conditions. >> it costs money to sit still. and it also costs money to run that thing empty, as far as fuel. so, hopefully they get it cleared out. >> reporter: the monster storm

even brought hurricane-force winds. look at this building in north texas. the winds there so ferocious, it peeled bricks from the side of a building. >> like someone ran into the building and it was falling apart. >> reporter: today, the storm is headed further northeast. although, the heaviest snow is forecast for the midwest. from oklahoma to maine, 19 states are under storm watches and warnings. kansas, which barely recovered from last week's monster storm, is bracing for even more punishment. >> we had a nice winter so far. and now, boy, in the last two weeks here, it's like jeez. >> reporter: new hampshire, which already has a foot on the ground, is gearing up. >> it's crazy. i don't like the winter. >> reporter: today, there's worry about more than just snow. severe thunderstorms and heavy rainfall are possible across parts of the south and mid-atlantic. tahman bradley, abc news. the first day of spring is march 20th. my watch is set. so, just hang on a little bit longer, folks. >> let's not get ahead of

ourselves just yet. now, to the forecast from jim dickey and accuweather. good morning, jim. >> good morning, rob and diana. dealing with a wintry mess this morning in the midwest. the blizzard conditions winding down across the plains. snow ending across the plains. heavy snow into kansas city. that snow extending towards chicago. amid chicago, three to six inches in the chicago area. most of this has fallen, though, by the time is said and done. the snow ends here through the morning through kansas city. likely over a foot. this snow then extends towards the northeast, into wednesday. rob and diana, back to you. >> thanks, jim. appreciate that. keep it here for the latest forecast, coming up in just a little while on "good morning america." in other news this morning, the president travels to virginia today to highlight the impact of those looming budget cuts on the defense industry. yesterday, he spoke to the nation's governors on that very same issue. but top republican leaders accuse the president of simply trying to scare americans. abc's karen travers reports from washington.

>> reporter: congress has a major deadline looming on friday. and president obama says it's time to put politics aside. >> at some point, we have to do some governing. >> reporter: if lawmakers don't come up with an alternative plan, $85 billion in automatic budget cuts will go into effect. at the white house, president obama asked the nation's governors to put pressure on the state legislators in washington. >> congress should not allow these arbitrary sequester cuts to go through. and hurt our economy. slow our recovery. there has got to be a better way. >> now is the time to cut spending. it can be done without jeopardizing the economy. it can be done without jeopardizing critical services. >> reporter: lawmakers can't seem to agree on much these days. except that the cuts are basically inevitable. expect the obama administration to keep up its steady drumbeat on the dire consequences. >> disruptive and destructive to our nation's security and economy. >> reporter: the white house says there will be cuts to education programs, fewer federal meat inspectors.

and travel disruption because of furloughs of airport workers. >> it's already a two-hour wait. it's suggested that you arrive at the airport two hours early. what's it going to be now? is it going to be three hours early? >> reporter: house republicans blasted president obama for not leading the way to a compromise. they say he's more focused on rattling the public at campaign-style events than sitting down with lawmakers. rob and diana, back to you. >> thank you, karen. this morning, a major split is developing within the gop over the issue of gay marriage. this morning's "new york times" reports that a group of prominent republicans has signed legal papers saying gays have a constitutional right to marry. among those republicans are former white house advisers, four former governors and two members of congress. and after more than a century, the u.s. census bureau has decided to drop the word negro on its forms and surveys. starting next year, negro will no longer appear as an option for race, alongside black or african-american. the agency says many americans

view the word as offensive and outdated. duh. c. everett koop, the nation's most famous and influential surgeon general, has died at 96. president reagan appointed koop back in 1981. he was instrumental on changing america's views on smoking, trying to get the entire country to kick the habit. he also endorsed condoms and sex education to help stop the spread of aids. he was a frequent visitor to dartmouth until shortly before his death. they say his mind was as sharp as ever, even at the age of 96. pope benedict is leaving it up to the cardinals of the catholic church when it comes to starting the meeting that will choose his successor. benedict changed the rules, allowing the cardinals to move up the conclave start date if all of them arrive at the vatican before the usual 15-day waiting period ends. benedict's resignation takes effect this coming thursday. prosecutors in italy have

asked that manslaughter charges be brought against the captain of "the costa concordia" cruise ship. francisco schettino was at the helm when the ship slammed against a reef and capsized more than a year ago. 32 people, including 2 americans, died in that accident. and coming up after the break, stocks sliding yet again, just days after a historic high. plus, one year later. today, a community remembers trayvon martin. and meltdown, big-time. a traveler's epic tantrum at the check-in counter. all of it, yep, caught on camera.

welcome back, everybody. well, fresh fears are sending

stocks lower this morning. with no clear winner in italy's national election, investors are worried that europe's debt crisis may return. u.s. markets plunged yesterday because of that news and also because of budget cut fears back here at home. the dow, in fact, lost 216 points. that's its biggest drop in more than three months. and it's affecting markets this morning in asia and in europe, too. macy's and jcpenney are duking it out over a domestic diva. macy's claims it has the rights to sell merchandise with martha stewart's name over it. but stewart signed a deal to open boutiques in jcpenney stores. the biggest furniture retailer is the latest tainted by the horse meat scandal. ikea is no longer serving swedish meatballs at its stores

in europe. some contained horse meat. the meat sold in the u.s. companies some from an american supplier. >> you like those meatballs. >> i do. the entertainment industry and internet service providers are cracking down on copyright violators. the internet service will be slowed to a crawl. and the ratings are in for sunday night's academy award show. the average audience was 3% more than last year. that's aided by this year's strong field for best picture. you can probably credit seth macfarlane for the increase among those 18 to 34 years old. >> get some of the younger viewers to tune in. by the end of the show, they were no longer young. he did a good job. >> we had a good time. >> it was good. coming up next on this

tuesday, the overnight search of a massive stretch of ocean after a family's boat sinks offshore. and a superstar quarterback takes a pay cut, doing a big favor for his team. we'll be right back. it seems our angels have been busy building a new, stronger so it holds up better, kind of angel soft®. it's now built with two softshield™ layers. when wet, new angel soft® is one, two, three times stronger than the leading value brand. well done, angels! stronger, holds up better... all wrapped up in a value you love. new angel soft®. now stronger than ever.

the intense ache made it hard to do the things that i wanted. my doctor diagnosed it as fibromyalgia -- thought to be the result of over-active nerves that cause chronic, widespread pain. lyrica is believed to calm these nerves. i learned lyrica can provide significant relief from fibromyalgia pain. so now, i can do more of the things i enjoy. lyrica is not for everyone. it may cause serious allergic reactions or suicidal thoughts or actions. tell your doctor right away if you have these, new or worsening depression, or unusual changes in mood or behavior. or swelling, trouble breathing, rash, hives, blisters, changes in eyesight including blurry vision, muscle pain with fever, or tired feeling. common side effects are dizziness, sleepiness, weight gain and swelling of hands, legs and feet. don't drink alcohol while taking lyrica. don't drive or use machinery until you know how lyrica affects you. those who have had a drug or alcohol problem may be more likely to misuse lyrica. with less pain, i'm feeling better with lyrica. ask your doctor if lyrica is right for your fibromyalgia pain.

updating the big weather story today. kansas, missouri and iowa will see the blizzard-like conditions that hit parts of texas and oklahoma yesterday, the panhandles of both those states received about 20 inches of snow. that forced highways to close, with hundreds of vehicles stranded. as for this morning's road conditions, you can expect a big mess around kansas city, which should see around a foot of the white stuff. it will be icy in the appalachians. snowshowers in the rockies. wet roads in the northwest. >> if you're flying, airport delays are probable in kansas city, chicago, detroit. morning delays in atlanta,

charlotte and d.c. and problems later, in new york. there's been an intense search for a family. >> a husband and wife and two children sent a series of distress calls sunday afternoon. then, they sent a message they were abandoning their boat and were trying to make a life raft. the water temperatures, in the 40s and 50s in that area. long-term survivor is unlikely. an american couple from california who vanished last month during a biking trip in peru may be in ecuador. police believe they boarded a boat to the amazon in ecuador. the couple from the san francisco bay area had been keeping in contact with friends and family through facebook and skype. but all communication abruptly stopped back on january 25th. >> just hanging in there. you know, you don't know what you don't know. so, we're holding on that

they're okay. >> the bike tour was supposed to last six months. relatives got worried when the u.s. embassy posted a warning about u.s. citizens being kidnapped. bp is being accused of putting profits before people and safety, as it faces off with federal and state prosecutors in new orleans. on day one of its high-stakes trial, the oil giant acknowledged making mistakes. but denied it was guilty of gross negligence in the 2010 gulf oil spill. a possible payout from bp is reportedly being considered. there's somber ceremonies around the country today, marking the anniversary of trayvon martin's death. the unarmed florida teenager was shot and killed by george zimmerman one year ago. martin's parents are here in new york city for a million hoodies candlelight march for this evening. zimmerman has pled not guilty in the killing, based on florida's highly controversial stand your ground law. and friends and family

gather in south florida to remember mindy mccready at a funeral. the singer died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound earlier this month. she leaves behind two sons. now, that olympian oscar pistorius is free on bail, is he about to start training again? he wants to resume training while awaiting his trial for the murder of his girlfriend. police say the issue was raised because they need to know any of his movements. pistorius' spokeswoman points out he is still in mourning. and no specific time has been decided. and moving on to your monday night sports highlights. we get those from espn. >> i'm chris hassel with your "sportscenter" update. the chicago blackhawks haven't lost in 11 months in regulation. down 1-0, to edmonton in the first. patrick kane, knocking this baby

up. look at the backhander. chicago was down 2-1, in the third. they would tie it. send it to overtime. the streak continues, with the blackhawks get the win. skating in on nikolai khabibulin. save. and marian hossa for the goal and the winner. blackhawks win 3-2, in overtime. 25-straight, with a point. the nba, lakers in denver. under four minutes left in the second quarter. steve nash, loses it. andre iguodala, to lamelton, to kenneth fareed. nuggets up 13. fourth quarter, denver by ten. ty lawson from outside. nuggets up big. corey brewer dishing to andre iguodala. nuggets leading by 18. fourth quarter, lakers down nine. antwan jamison driving. rejected by fareed. and lawson, on the other end, finishes. nuggets, with a 119-108 win over the lakers.

kansas, erased a five-point deficit in the final 30 seconds of the game at iowa state last night. and would win in overtime by 12 points. the second time those teams have gone to overtime this season. and the second time kansas has won by double-figures. i'm chris hassel. thank you. patriots quarterback, tom brady, is taking one for the team, with his new contract extension. that's three-year, $27 million deal will keep brady with new england until he turns 40. >> and it's considered a bargain, compared to other top quarterbacks. the extension clears about $15 million from the team's salary cap. money that can be spent to sign other players. what a considerate guy. >> star quarterback, married to a supermodel. just had a new baby. >> and a gentleman. >> rough life, mr. brady. up next, "the pulse," and an a-lister comes clean about her secret wedding. plus, a homeless hero

getting a new start, thanks to his act of kindness. we'll be right back.going to sla but when you wake up in the middle of the night it can be frustrating. it's hard to turn off and go back to sleep. intermezzo is the first and only prescription sleep aid approved for use as needed in the middle of the night when you can't get back to sleep. it's an effective sleep medicine you don't take before bedtime. take it in bed only when you need it and have at least four hours left for sleep. do not take intermezzo if you have had an allergic reaction to drugs containing zolpidem, such as ambien. allergic reactions such as shortness of breath or swelling of your tongue or throat may occur and may be fatal. intermezzo should not be taken if you have taken another sleep medicine at bedtime or in the middle of the night or drank alcohol that day. do not drive or operate machinery until at least 4 hours after taking intermezzo and you're fully awake. driving, eating, or engaging in other activities while not fully awake without remembering the event the next day have been reported. abnormal behaviors may include aggressiveness, agitation,

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♪ that's my ex-wife singing. time to check, "the pulse," and the stories you'll be talking about today. starting with the matrimonial bombshelby janet jackson. >> she married her boyfriend months ago. the couple wed at a quiet and beautiful ceremony. we say congrats to both. we can only imagine the culture shock when former nba bad boy dennis rodman arrives in north korea. we said north korea.

the guy is 6'7", in a country where the average is 5'5". not to mention the piercings, the at thes, the green hair. the trip for rodman and three members of the harlem globetrotters are part of a tv show. staying in the far east for this one. it happened at an airport in china. one guy took out all of his frustrations on a check-in desk computer. and he kept on going. >> he grabs a sign. he started swinging this thing around. this guy is a high-level government official, who admed a government official, who admed a missed the flight with his family. he has issued an apology. but did it feel good for somebody to let all that out at the airport. we all thought about it. >> oh, yeah. and in kansas city, it's a case of your cup runneth over, way over. >> a homeless panhandler found a pricey diamond ring in his donation cup.

a woman had dumped her coin purse in that cup, forgetting her wedding ring was in the purse. when she went to see if the panhandler had it, he gave her the ring. >> and the couple set up a website. total strangers have donated $150,000. ♪ i get a good feeling ♪ yeah ♪ get a feeling that i never, never, never, never had before ♪ ♪ no, no, i get a good feeling ♪ [ female announcer ] all this. hd 8. only on royal cari royal caribbean's biggest sale of the year is going on now. call 1-800-royal-caribbean. is going on now. it'and start talking aboutt whawhat you really wanthroom. from your toilet paper. it's time to talk about clean. feeling clean is so important. i use quilted northern. quilted northern soft and strong is stronger than the leading value brand, for a confident clean.

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>> live from the kgo-tv broadcast center this is abc7 news. >> good tuesday morning. it is 4:28. i am kristen sze. eric thomas is off today. if you liked yesterday, today mike nicco will start us off with a great reason to get out of the bed. >> it will be warmer this afternoon with more sunshine. live doppler 7 hd showing how dry it is this morning. check out the temperatures right now: 46 in san francisco, oakland is 43, san jose is 38 and concord is, too. 36 at half moon bay. 41 in mountain view and santa rosa. in the afternoon, mostly sunny

today. temperatures are running from the 30's and 40's this morning to the 50's and 60's during the afternoon hours. the 50's would be at the coast. we will see quick cooling in the evening. temperatures in the 40's to near 50 degrees. hope you enjoyed the weather. sue? >> so far, so good. if you are traveling from marin county, southbound, 101, there is light traffic on the golden gate bridge but the crews are ready to reconfigure the morning commute and you can see by the flashing caution sign there is road work on the north portion of the span and that will be picked up between 5:00 and 5:30. elsewhere we have road work east 580 from greenville to north flynn in three lanes until 11:00 this morning, and westbound drive is looking good, a little bit slowing from the central valley but so far, so good. we have closures here, fremont on ramp to northbound 85 in the sunnyvale area closed until 6:00, also, because of road work.

>> developing news, the coast guard continued to search for a family with two young children missing off the coast of monterey. amy hollyfield is live at the coast guard station with the very latest. >> the coast guard is searching right now, searched all night long and >>neil: -- and >>neil: sunrise when they will launch a c130 out of the sacramento to look from above. look at this exclusive video they did the same thing yesterday and they let abc7 news good along. we were the only crew up in the air with the teams searching the water for the family. still, no word on where the family could be. no sign of them. the four people on board have been missing since sunday afternoon. their distress call came in 60 miles west of monterey on sunday afternoon. in the call they said, and it was faint signal, they were able

to get across the point and their 29' sailboat was taking on water and they were going to abandon ship. there were two adults and two children on board. they said they were hoping to float and survive on a life preserver ring and a cooler. that is all they had. that is the last they have been heard of. temperatures should be around 40 to 50 degrees in the water making long-term survival very difficult but the coast guard is not willing to give up at this point. still out searching and we will continue through the morning. we will cover the story and bring you updates as soon as we get them. stay with us throughout the broadcast. >> we have breaking news right now abc news has learned new details of the efforts to select a new pope. the dean of the college of cardinals will summon the cardinals to the vatican on friday for the first meeting on